[Pheochromocytomas: diagnosis, anesthesia and treatment. Apropos of 17 recent cases]

This article summarizes 5 years of systematic observation of 17 patients presenting with benign pheochromocytoma. The diagnosis was based on clinical and biological findings which were consistently positive. The topographical diagnosis was based on CT scans, and a combination of intravenous urograms and nephrotomography. The preoperative preparations were made with labetalol, and the anesthetic used was narconeuroleptanalgesic. The hemodynamic study was carried out with a Swann-Ganz catheter, which proved indispensable in the surveillance of the patient at operation. The surgical procedure is best performed with transperitoneal subcostal incisions, which the authors prefer. Morbidity was negligible, and mortality, zero.